


Pepperony Week 2019

by WritingInAHoodie



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bars and Pubs, Creepy Man stopped by pepper spray, F/M, Sorry guys, fluff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:53:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26119885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingInAHoodie/pseuds/WritingInAHoodie
Summary: Originally posted in 2018 and on my tumblr @writing-in-a-hoodie
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. I

**1.**

It was a Thursday night when she got the call that would flip her world completely for the next three weeks.

She was laying in her too high thread-count sheets, watching sheep jump across the dark plains of her mind. Her dreams were filled with her family and occasionally a certain genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist.

She had her blackberry on her nightstand, as well as a radio in the very back of her simplistic bedroom playing relaxing music hoping to calm her nerves enough for her to sleep.

Tony's weapon demonstration for the Jericho missile was that afternoon, and she still hadn't gotten any text or call from Tony to tell her about how it went.

She turned in her sleep onto her side, her face scrunching up as cold breeze flowed in from the cracked window on the left wall. The sheer curtains blew slightly in the wind, rain pouring from the sky and pounding into the sidewalk and the asphalt.

Pepper liked the rain, there was something about the smell, the look, how it cleared roads, and cooled down hot summer days. When she was a kid she used to bolt out the door just to jump in the puddles that had been formed across the pavement.

Her mother used to scold her from the door, trying to round up her daughter and scurry her back into the house, trying to avoid getting Pepper sick and then missing school.

Tony didn't share her like of rain, he stared at it and seemed to zone out. When Pepper would see him do this she would put a hand on his shoulder and try to snap him back into the reality of his own house.

Tony would not drop his façade and just make a flirtatious joke about how close Pepper was and then disappear. She had a floating thought cross her mind before she sat down to sleep, wondering if it was raining in Afghanistan where Tony was.

She had once read that they have a rare rainy peak in the Spring.

Her cat, Tubs, was purring happily at the end of Pepper's bed, curled against his owner's legs as he snoozed the night away, probably dreaming of catching the squirrels that terrorized him outside the glass door of Pepper's balcony.

The peaceful atmosphere was bothered by a shrill shriek that resonated around the room.

Her phone.

Her eyes flickered open, groaning at the sound and then turning over to retrieve the culprit of the crime. She pressed the button before holding it up to her ear, trying to clear her throat of all grogginess before she talked to whoever was on the other side.

"Hello?" she murmured blinking harshly and staring at the textured ceiling of her apartment.

"Pepper? It's me." the familiar voice was calm but held a tense undertone as it addressed the strawberry blonde woman.

"Rhodey?" she asked confused, shutting her eyes and trying to figure out why he would call her at, she quickly looked at the blue numbers to her right, 4:00 AM.

"Yeah, sorry, I knew you were sleeping but this is kinda important." he sounded apologetic so she wasn't as mad as she could have been.

"It's alright, what's happening?" She asked, using her other hand to push herself into sitting up and crossing her leg over each other.

"It's about Tony."

Dread filled her stomach as she thought of all the possible things that he could have gotten himself into when he was unsupervised.

"What's wrong?" she asked, apprehensively.

"He's missing." 

"What?"

"It was an ambush, one of the vehicles were blown up, all of the soldiers that were escorting him were dead on the ground. We found the wreckage only five minutes later, and he- he wasn't there. All we found of his is his broken phone with shrapnel embedded into it."

Pepper didn't respond.

"Pepper?"

She then hung up on the colonel.

She let out a shaky breath, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes as she tried not to let her head imagine all of the ways Tony might be injured and possibly dying. She gripped the covers and laid back down, pressing her phone into the nightstand beside her as the tears that were pooled in her eyes spilled across her cheeks.

No matter how many tears she shed, it didn't change the fact that he was gone. 

**2.**

Pepper felt like her chest was going to force itself out of her chest.

She was sitting in a plane away from New York, a plane that Tony insisted that she take. She was sat in a leather seat, her fingers digging into the leather with bone-breaking force. Tony had just flown himself into a wormhole and now she couldn't take her eyes off of the television.

The assistant that is with her on the plane had a hand on her shoulder, trying to be comforting without accidentally suffocating Pepper.

She couldn't believe that the man she loved was _so self-sacrificing_. The air around her felt thick and almost swamp-like, it was so dense that she could practically feel it wrap around her body and pull her down underwater.

Her phone was buzzing in the background, she wouldn't tear her eyes away from the television for one moment to even check who was ringing her phone at the worst possible time.

There were tears in her eyes, her lip slightly quivering as she watched the portal that had torn a hole in the sky slowly recede into itself.

First Coulson, now Tony? She was losing everyone that she dared to hold close to her heart.

She felt her body go numb as the wormhole pretty much completely closed, her back arching as she let the tears drag themselves down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with her hand, other laying limply on her lap.

Then she let out a gasp as she watched a bar of gold and red covered figure fall out of the hole, plummeting to the ground fast, she watched intently waiting for any kind of movement from Tony.

There was nothing.

She turned around, knowing that she couldn't watch the person that she loved hit the ground, she stood up on shaky legs and reached for her phone, she brought it up to her eyes only to start crying harder as she read the words on her blackberry's screen.

She missed the last time to talk to him and now he was gone. 

**MISSED CALL: TONY.**

**3.**

The house blew up.

 _Their_ house blew up.

First, she learned that Happy had gotten himself put in the hospital because a bombing by the Mandarin, then she learned that Tony had decided to threaten said Mandarin because he was irked with the press and the fact that one of his best friends was in the hospital.

One of Tony's old flames was in their house, she just wanted to drag Tony by the arm and pull him out to her Audi, driving far and fast away from the now endangered home.

As she and he were arguing about leaving and the big bunny that Tony decided would be the best present for her - for whatever reason, the flame, Maya, pointed out that missiles were heading towards the house. 

All she remembered in the quick blur was sudden heat, getting blown back into the crumbling house as she and Tony were separated from each other. Tony, being thoughtful, decided to summon his suit to wrap around her instead of himself. She hit the ground, opening her eyes to see a blue HUD and the balcony cracking and falling into the Pacific Ocean. 

She looked around for Tony, frantically. She saw his black shirt and immediately rushed to him, the suit's HUD warning her of the compromised stability of the ceiling above her boyfriend. He looked up as the ceiling cracked and put his hands above his face, trying to protect himself from the debris that was about to fall on top of him.

She dove over him, letting the chunks of concrete and other things hit her on the back. Tony looked surprised and she opened the faceplate of the suit, "I got you." 

"I got you first. Like I said we can't stay here." Tony murmured quickly before shoving his feet under himself and launching himself up. They ran through the house, she swiftly but a little clunkily avoided the weak spots in the floor. 

Another two missiles hit the supports that were holding up the mansion, the third one went through the shattered window and blew up right next to Tony. Tony got blown back enough to be sent over their couch, which was near the glass.

She stumbled a bit, the suit keeping her grounded to the floor. She looked back at Tony to make sure that he hadn't accidentally gotten himself thrown out a window.

"Move! I'm right behind!" he shouted urgently. She watched him vault over the couch before sprinting towards her. She turned her head back towards the front of the house, hearing Tony's footsteps behind her reassured her enough so that she didn't turn around to check up on him again. 

As Tony was almost behind her the floor between herself and Tony caved in, the gap too big for Tony to make it across. She turned around and stumbled again as the house shook violently. 

She locked eyes with Tony. 

"Get her, I'm gonna find a way around," Tony said, a little out of breath, pointing to the other limp figure that was close to Pepper. Her eyes flitted to the figure before she refocused her attention back onto him. Her feet were still planted solidly into the ground, hesitation painted her features as she looked worriedly at Tony. "Stop stopping! Get her, get outside, go!" 

She looked at him for one more seconds before she turned around and grabbed Maya with awkward movements, in the back of her mind she wondered briefly how in the world Tony made manning the suit look so swift and calculated. She hooked one of Maya's arms around her metal-encased neck, she got to the blocked door and tried to use the repulsor on her right hand.

Frustration crossed her features as it wouldn't fire, but when she put her hand down it fired and she ended up launching herself and Maya out of the house and onto the concrete. She flipped her faceplate up and looked over at Maya to make sure that she wasn't unconscious from the harsh toss. 

She watched as another piece of the overhang in front of the house hit the ground, dust being kicked up everywhere as she quickly got onto her knees. "Tony!" she screamed, as the house continued to quake.

Another missile hit, she could hear and see it make contact with another one of the support beams, the whole house started to tip towards the ocean. There were only a few seconds of nothing before she felt the metal armor around her start to un-attach. She got dragged forward, the force of the bits of the armor dragging her to her feet. She was free of the armor soon and watched the pieces head into the foggy and crumbled house. 

A minute of watching the helicopters that surrounded the property shoot bullets into the house, and soon the piano that she had seen Tony play only a few times was flying through the air and slammed into the front of the helicopter, taking it down.

She tried to look through the window frames of the house to see if she could see Tony and have the small shred of relief that he was fine.

One of the helicopters that were shooting at the back of the house had moved to be on the left side of the house and continued shooting. At what she could only assume was Tony. She then watched a little black object get tossed towards it and then the helicopter blew up.

Her mouth was agape as she watched helicopter start descending towards Tony as it smacked into the wall it blew up with a boom that shook the ground.

The house started tipping, even more, two more missiles getting shot into Tony's lab, she could hear the faint sounds of Tony's favorite car alarms going off and then suddenly stopping. 

Then the whole house fell.

The huge slabs of concrete slid down the cliff, one more missile and suddenly the back end of the house was gone from her sights. 

She quickly stood up and jogged in her heels to the end of the cliff, looking down over the edge only to see rubble. 

"Tony!"

She didn't see anything.

He was gone. 

**4.**

Pepper was shocked.

Like, hand over her mouth as she looked down at the words scrawled across the screen of the tablet that currently resting in her lap. 

A few days ago, she was standing in her office. Her assistant had dropped off a three-inch-thick stack of papers on her desk with a slight apologetic grimace. She was busy with her favorite pen in her hand as she continuously signed her name on the dotted lines.

Usually, she made herself do it without complaining, trying to just get it done, and then she could return home and make herself a cup of tea and turn on the TV. 

But now she was staring up at the News. Watching as Earth's mightiest heroes went to war against each other, Tony included. She watched as he was thrown around, cars were smashed on top of him. All of the things you would never think that someone's friends would do, they did.

She had read up on the accords, saw Tony taking responsibility for the actions that the team had created. She had seen him on television, talking with a calm and calculated tone, never one joke, or insult for that matter. 

She was shocked, and a little proud to see him being serious.

And now, his suit's connected is severed. 

After the battle in the airport, she asked FRIDAY to keep track of Tony for her, feeling like maybe soon would be the right time to approach the compound, find him, and just shove herself onto him and apologize profusely. 

In the current time, she is in her room, staring down at her tablet with fear and concern, and shock. She asked FRIDAY where Tony was since she hadn't seen his name appear in the news for a little bit. FRIDAY's response wasn't exactly at all what Pepper expected to hear.

"His suit is currently off of my systems, I-I can't seem to get a hold of him. I'm sorry Miss Potts." the A.I at least had the decency to sound apologetic. 

"Where is he?" Pepper asked, stern, but she noticed that her fingers were curled around the metal of the tablet tighter.

"He refused to disclose or give me access to that information."

Pepper turned off her tablet and placed it on her counter, her hands reaching up to press against her face as she sat there.

Tony was somewhere, out there, who knows, possibly injured and she had no idea where.

He was gone.

**5.**

Pepper was currently in the apartment that they had until they decided where they wanted to move. Her phone was in her hand as she quickly dialed the person that she adored with her whole being.

It only took thirty minutes for New York to go to hell, Bruce randomly appeared and clutched Tony's shoulders like a lifeline, talking about someone named Thanos, something about Thor being dead thrown somewhere in there. Then another couple minutes and suddenly there was a giant spinning donut hovering over the city. Then two...creatures that appeared and had around with Tony.

And here she was, trying to dial Tony who hadn't said much since he asked her to go and hide in their apartment, to lock the door and not let anyone in and make sure that she was safe, and then leaving with the wizards and Bruce. 

But the reporters that honestly didn't care for their well being caught Iron Man blasting off towards the sky and possibly towards the donut-shaped ship.

He finally picked up, maybe only a minute after he was seen blasting into the sky. And she knew, by the time he spoke and the tone of his first words, something in her gut had already curled, he was going to be stupid again and it was _so_ evident.

"Tony? Oh my God. Are you all alright? What's going on?" she asked as soon as Tony had picked up, her chest feeling tight with worry. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just think we might need to push our 8:30 res." he trailed off, and Pepper made the connection quickly.

"Tell me you're not on that ship," she whispered, her lip quivering as she closed her eyes. 

"Yeah..."

"God, no. Please tell me you're not on that ship," she stressed, the worry and fear seeping into her voice and it came out sniffly. 

"Honey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say." he sighed, and she clenched her fists so tight that she could feel the marks being dug into her palms.

"Come back here, Tony. I swear to God...." she cried, her voice teetering on anger.

"Pep."

It was so said so softly that Pepper almost faltered in her anger. Keyword, almost.

"Come back here right now! Come back!" she barked at him, angry tears wetting her lips, making her taste salt. 

And then the connection was cut.

And he was gone.

**+1**

It was done.

The creatures that had fought and took a stand in Thanos' name were dissipating, Pepper watched as they all disappeared into dust, caught into the wind and then disappearing.

And then, the feeling, the feeling that Tony did something stupid, the senses that she had honed over the years, hit her head-on. She knew that he had done it. She took in a shaky breath and quickly flew over to the spot that Tony had been last. 

And then she saw him.

He was lying against a rock, the right side of his face marked with burns, his eyes unfocused and dark as he stared at nothing. It was like a snake had coiled in her chest seeing him like that, she bit her lip as she watched Rhodey shoot across the sky and hover for a second over Tony.

Rhodey was quick to land and crouch in front of Tony's limp figure, his hand fell on the side of Tony's face that wasn't burnt, Tony's eyes were glassy but they stilled flickered to his best friend. Rhodey smiled with tears in his eyes as he let out a watery smile. 

The kid, Peter, landed behind Rhodey, staring at his mentor with a haunted look in his eyes as he took in the condition of his mentor.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked.

Rhodey bowed his head and let his hand fall to Tony's chest before backing up and letting Peter get in front of Tony.

"Hey..." Peter shakily spoke before he ran up to Tony and fell in front of him, tears already in his eyes as Tony's eyes became unfocused again. "Mr. Stark? Can you hear me?" Peter rose a little bit to be the same height as Tony, trying to get Tony to see him. "It's Peter." as soon as Peter said that Tony's eyes lowered to look at him in the eye. "Hey..." Peter breathed, staring at Tony.

"We won. Mr. Stark... We won, Mr. Stark. We won and you did it, sir. You did it." Peter said, crying as Tony became unfocused again. Peter bent down to hug Tony, weeping while he did. "I'm sorry... Tony...." 

Pepper was behind Peter at this point, taking Peter's arm and pulling him back near Rhodey, Peter brought his hands to his mouth and started to sob silently, Rhodey putting his hand on Peter's shoulder.

Pepper bent down to Tony's level, Tony's eyes following her as she came into view.

"Hey..." she breathed, staring at the broken body of someone she loved.

"Hey, Pep..." he said quietly, and she put her hand on his chest, worry lacing her features.

Tony without looking down put his left hand on top of her blue-covered hand, gripping as tightly as he could with the little strength he had. She took a close look at him this time, taking into account how bad it was. 

"FRIDAY?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Life functions critical." the A.I said, curtly.

Then Tony slightly moved his head to get a better look at her before letting a smile grace his lips as he stared at her with tears in his eyes.

She smiled back at him, "Tony." 

His head limply moved away from her and she continued. "Look at me," she said softly.

He looked back at her, "We're gonna be okay." she smiled.

She knew that this was bothering him, the reason that he was holding on. She made sure that he had his confirmation that they were gonna be fine, his head moved back, and then she smiled again. 

"You can rest now," she whispered and moved her hand in his hair. She then knew that this was it. His eyes were still and he wasn't breathing anymore, She started to cry, bowing her head as his arc reactor turned off and his hand became limp and fell off of hers. 

She paused for a moment, kissing his cheek, before bowing her head and laying it on his shoulder as she mourned. 

And this time? He was gone. 


	2. II

There were light and heat splayed across Tony's face. 

He opened his eyes with a groan, expecting to see the hull of a metal ship, or a bright star passing outside the reinforced glass as they drifted into the depths of space, or even Nebula standing in front of him asking if he was alright. 

He honestly didn't expect to wake up in a room, that wasn't in space, with a nice soft bed under his fingertips. He opened his eyes even further and squinted at the sun that flooded his vision. He turned his head away from the light and proceeded to inspect the room. 

Ah, right, he remembered now. He had gotten rescued from space by the lady that seemingly was on fire, then he remembered freaking out at Steve, and then his vision receding into black as he hit the floor. 

Something about a hospital, and the sweet fruity smell of Pepper's perfume. 

And then, he was here.

Where ever there was. 

He felt a warm object curled against him and slightly panicked and then turned his head to inspect what it was. He ended up catching a strawberry blonde strand of hair across his face. He could recognize that specific shade of hair from anywhere.

He was home.

More importantly, with Pepper. 

He held his breath, feeling Pepper shift in her sleep to hold him closer. Her arm locked around his waist as she rested her head in the crook of his neck and continued her snooze. 

He looked around the room, recognizing the pictures that were either hung on the wall or placed on shelves, he could see the red and gold curtains that he pleaded Pepper to buy on his knees in the middle of an IKEA. 

The box that used to hold his old reactor was also on his nightstand, looking recently cleaned off. A little smile graced his lips as the memories associated with the box flew into his mind.

He could see the necklace that he had gifted her after the whole ordeal with Aldrich Killian resting on Pepper's jewelry box, the little shrapnel glinting in the light given from in between the curtains. 

"Tony?" came softly from his neck, he grimaced slightly, knowing that the motion of him looking around accidentally woke her up. 

"Hi," he said fondly at her and she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You're awake," she said, staring down at the still sunken and malnourished face of her fiancé.

"Too early." he smiled, referencing her napping. He sat up and stared at Pepper as she ran her hands through her hair trying to straighten out the mess that had been made of her hair. 

It made his heart almost explode and his breathing quicken when he realized that he almost wouldn't see her again. Wouldn't smell her perfume, wouldn't be able to run his hands through her hair again, wouldn't be able to pull her against him and hold onto her. 

There was nowhere he rather is than right here staring at the love of his life.

As Pepper was about to swirl his legs over the side of the bed and push herself up, most likely than coming over to Tony's side to help him up as well, he stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

"How about we stay in bed," he said, their eyes locked as dark brown met blue. 

He could see the undertones of concern littered throughout her features, he remembered her bounding up to him when he first stumbled out of the ship and pressing her lips tightly to his cheek.

She nodded and he pressed his lips against her forehead as she lied down and Tony wrapped his arm around her.

"I-I got your recordings," she whispered after a minute of silence and he felt his body stiffen as she turned around in his arms.

"I was hoping you did," he said, moving his hand to the side of her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"What happened up there?" she asked, and he sighed averting his eyes.

"Well, we got our asses kicked, met an alien, fought Thanos, lost against Thanos, got stabbed, and then I, uh, I lost the kid," Tony said, meeting her eyes again as the horrible flashes of fighting and Peter crying as he fell into Tony's arms, then disappearing into dust flitted over his mind.

Pepper watched Tony's eyes tear up as he tightened his grip on her. 

Pepper felt her heart clench at the expression that was on Tony's face, he had his jaw clenched tight as he stared into space, at nothing in particular. 

Pepper pulled Tony's head to rest in her neck as the few tears dropped onto her.

"We're gonna be okay," she whispered and smiled and he looked up at her and smiled at the love of his life. 

And with the love shared between the two, for once, Tony believed it. 


	3. III

Tony was sitting in the kitchen, his hands wrist-deep in soapy water as he used a sponge to clean some of the dishes before chucking them into the dishwasher. He had to say, over the couple months that he and Pepper had lived in this house, he had gotten pretty good at this domestic thing.

He felt the bottom of the sink feeling no more dishes, so he drained the sink and took a cloth the photos to the right. He started to wipe them off, eventually reaching back behind to grab a photo of himself and Peter. He stared down at it for a couple of seconds before sighing.

He then heard soft feet padding against the floor and before he could turn around Pepper hooked her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder.

He placed the photo back onto the counter delicately before turning around and resting his hands on her hips as she moved her hands to wrap around his neck. 

He smiled down at her, rubbing small circles into her hips with his thumbs as she rested her head on his scarred chest.

She looked over at his progress of the dishes and hummed, "Not bad." 

"I know, I'm pretty good at this whole husband thing," he said as he leaned against the counter, still holding Pepper.

"Mm, don't flatter yourself." 

Tony scoffed and jokingly shoved Pepper's arms away from his figure as he skirted around her and headed towards the couch, "How rude." he shot a playful glare at Pepper.

Pepper smiled before stepping over to the refrigerator to grab some of the things that she had bought the day before to prepare for dinner. 

As she was cutting lettuce with her sharp knife Tony took time to admire how the light reflected off of her hair and how her eyes shined with a bright glow when she was in the company of him. 

He couldn't believe that they were now married, and they had bought a house together, it was like he was living in a dream, and he was going to wake up soon alone in bed with an unfamiliar weight in his chest. 

If he were to go back in time before he had been taken to Afghanistan and told his past self that one day he was going to marry _the_ Pepper Potts and they were going to live together. His past self would have freaked and ordered Happy to drag him out of his office. 

And now Pepper was _pregnant._

Tony was ecstatic, slightly worried, slightly paranoid, but ecstatic. 

Eventually, little Morgan will be born into the world and Tony is already sure that when Morgan arrives he is going to crumble and immediately be wrapped around the tiny finger of the child.

He hopes that he will be a good parent, he hasn't exactly had the best parental figures in his life, but Pepper made him swear that he wasn't going to freak out and distance himself away from her and the baby as soon as the kid's born.

He wants to make sure that when the kid is big enough that he tells them about Peter, and his mom, Maria. Maybe he could teach them how to play the piano, he remembers the times where Maria would invite him to sit down next to her on the piano bench. He would struggle with it, but he eventually got it and it was one of his favorite past times.

He got hit on the forehead with something and he flinched back away from the cold object, he stared down at a long piece of lettuce that Pepper tossed at him.

He looked up at Pepper with an inquisitive expression on his face only for Pepper to shrug.

"You were zoning." was her answer as she reached into the cabinet to grab a few spices. 

Tony smiled at her and slid off his seat, rounding around the counter to stand next to his wife. 

"What can I do to help, Mrs. Stark?" Tony asked Pepper with a smirk as she looked up at him with a deadpan while cutting vegetables. 

"You can leave my kitchen," she responded as she continued cutting. 

"Y'know, I'm trying to help, keep the stress away," he said, tapping her baby bump and she rolled her eyes.

"Knowing you, you'll probably start a fire while cutting vegetables." 

"Ow, you are out for my ego today aren't you," Tony said, snagging a carrot off of her pile and plopping it in his mouth, she bats his hand with her free hand and held up the knife threateningly. He walked a few steps backward and held his hands up.

"Fine." Tony rolled his eyes playfully before walking away accidentally bumping something off the table. "Oops." 

"Out, shoo," Pepper said, flicking her hand at him.

He chuckled, "I'm gonna go feed Gerald," he said as he opened the door and almost stepped out. "You complete me, honey." and then disappeared. 

She shook her head fondly, "You complete me as well."


	4. IV

Ten years ago Pepper would have never thought Tony would ever be in this position.

He was crouched on the floor, in sweatpants and a sweatshirt in front of an eight-month-old Morgan. His hands making come motions as Morgan stared at her father with her lips pursed.

For about a week she had been trying to stand up and take a step but usually fell off balance as soon as she stood up.

Pepper was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand as she recorded Tony trying to encourage their child to walk.

"Morgunna, come to daddy," he whispered moving to sit on the ground instead of crouching on top of it.

Morgan gave a happy gurgle and slapped her hand against the ground in the direction that Tony was in, showing it in her way that she wished to be next to Tony.

"Just five more minutes and I promise we'll snuggle. Come to dada." Tony promised, Pepper chuckling at him as his eyebrows knitted in exasperation at Morgan's insistence to snuggle.

Morgan gave a whine and burrowed her hands into the soft carpet before trying to haul herself up, she got her little feet under herself and Tony made more grabby motions, she tried to move her leg before she fell onto the ground with a slight oof.

"Maybe we should retire for the day and get you a snack, huh?" Tony said, almost getting up but Morgan tried to get up again so he sat back down. "Oh, we're gonna keep trying? Whatever you say, my little minion."

Pepper sent him a look as he smirked at her before paying his attention back to Morgan. 

Pepper exhaled a long breath, pocketing her phone and sliding off the couch to sit next to Tony. He wrapped an arm around her waist as she laid her head on his shoulder, he continued to try and invite Morgan over to them.

"Morgan, come to Mama." Pepper cooed and Morgan giggled happily at the sight and voice of her mom.

"No, Morgunna, come to _me_ instead." Tony cooed at her, locking eyes with Pepper as he sent a challenging look.

"Tony, we're not arguing over who Morgan walks over to first." Pepper said and Tony rolled his eyes.

"No! Of course not, were competing for her love," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world, and Pepper pursed her lips at him and slightly glared.

Morgan stared curiously at her two parents that slowly escalated into a joke argument, both parents not paying attention to Morgan as they complained and talked among themselves.

Morgan let out a little cry at the lack of attention that she was receiving before pulling herself up onto her feet shakily again, she took a single step in the direction of her parents before trying to balance herself and taking another step.

She giggled before taking one last step to stand in front of her parents before falling into Tony's lap.

Tony and Pepper looked down in shock as Morgan giggled and gripped Tony's shirt and pulled herself closer to him.

"Did she just walk?" Pepper asked in disbelief.

"I- uh, huh - yeah, I think she did," Tony said, curling his arms around Morgan and hoisting her up into his arms to be more comfortable. "FRIDAY? You catch that?" 

"Of course, Boss," FRIDAY said smoothly, maybe with slight amusement at the situation.

Tony lifted Morgan and pressed his lips to his baby's forehead, "You did it, Morgan! I'm so proud of you!" he said, tickling her stomach as she grinned.

"She deserves a treat, especially since she fell into _my_ lap," Tony said, walking over to the fridge to grab himself a snack and possibly one for Morgan.

"She was just looking for a soft place to set herself down." Pepper reasoned and Tony turned his head over his shoulder to send Pepper a disbelieving look.

"Uh-huh, that's why she gripped my shirt." Tony sing-songed as he popped a freshly washed grape into his mouth while cutting some grapes into small sizes for Morgan.

"Tony," Pepper said warningly.

"Mrs. Stark," he responded, smugly.

"Don't start this." 

"Start what?"

" _This_."

"Me being right?"

"You're not right though."

"Hmm, I don't know, the evidence is pretty convincing."

Morgan blinked, sighing as she watched them start again, she bunched her mom's shirt into her tiny fists and tugged on it a few times, Pepper still not paying attention to her. Morgan tried again, harder this time, the only thing Pepper did was absentmindedly rub her finger against Morgan's cheek.

"Our child loves us both equally." Pepper sighed at Tony as he rounded the corner of the counter to stand in front of her.

"Of course! She just loves me a tiny bit more." 

"Ma!" 

Tony and Pepper just locked eyes and didn't say anything before Tony turned his head towards to stare at Morgan.

"Or, maybe she just likes both of us." 


	5. V

Tony was driving significantly slower than he usually was, he was going five MPH under the speed limit in absolute and utter fear of everything and anything going completely wrong. Every time he stopped at a light he looked behind him into the back row and grinned as big as he could.

Morgan H. Stark was coming home. 

Pepper was napping in the passenger seat, her head lolled back against the headrest as she breathed deeply, a blanket thrown over her as she curled up as the best she could in a car seat.

Tony didn't want to wake her up, she did one of the hardest tasks a woman can go through, so he decided to leave her alone for now, just focusing on driving safely and getting to their house.

He turned on the road that leads towards the woods where their house was located, driving past dozens of trees and slightly windy roads until he eventually stopped the car in front of the garage. 

He pushed open the door of the car and slid out of it, closing it softly, as he walked to the other side of the car and opened the passenger side door, revealing Pepper in her sleepy glory. 

He put his hand on her shoulder and slightly shook it, Pepper groaning as she turned her head away from Tony.

"Pep, come on, wake up." 

She opened her eyes and blinked, looking at the house in front of her and the sleeping baby in the back and rubbed her eyes.

"Wow, I slept through the whole trip, didn't I." Pepper murmured, Tony reached across her waist to unbuckle her and helped her out.

"Yep, out like a light." Tony closed the door behind her and opened Morgan's door, Morgan curled in her carrier and snoozing.

Tony's heart jumped in excitement and adoration as he stared at his child's sleepy face. He froze and just stared, Pepper, bringing him back to reality as she put her hand on his shoulder and reached by him to grab the handle of Morgan's carrier.

"Can you go open the door?" Pepper asked and Tony nodded and quickly scrambled up the path that led to their house and unlocked the door, pushing it wide open.

Tony watched as Pepper made her way up the wooden stairs of the porch, carrying Morgan - who was still sleeping and walk through the open doorway, Tony walked in behind her and shut the door. 

He grabbed Morgan from Pepper and placed her onto the counter, Pepper tiredly leaning against the wall and sliding off her shoes. 

Tony helped Pepper slide off her jacket and place it on the coat hanger.

Pepper started to walk upstairs to change from the two-day clothes that she had placed in her bag that she took with her to the hospital.

Tony slid off his shoes and kicked them in the general direction of the ever-growing pile of shoes next to the door, throwing his jacket somewhere around there as well.

Tony grabbed Morgan and carried her up the stairs up into their master bedroom, placing her next to Pepper who was already laying on her side of the bed. 

Pepper picked up Morgan out of the carrier, grabbing the swaddled child into her arms, and moving the free carrier off to the side. She took one of her fingers and stroked it across the face of her baby, Morgan slightly nuzzling into the warmth of the touch.

Pepper's heart curled, a smile gracing her lips as she tried to wrap her mind around the past three days. 

Tony walked out of the bathroom, appearing in grey sweatpants and a black tank top, no blue glow in the chest area this time. He climbed into bed, the bed slightly creaking under his weight as he shuffled across the bed to sit next to Pepper.

Morgan slightly opened her eyes and let out a big yawn, her dark brown eyes staring up into the eyes of her parents. 

"Wow," Tony murmured, seeing his eyes staring back at him. "Y'know, I kinda thought she would have your eyes." 

"She also got your hair," Pepper said, stroking her fingers delicately over the head of their kid. "Looks like she favored her dad." 

"She has your nose and lips, though," Tony said, tickling Morgan's stomach. 

"Is that a good thing?" Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow as Tony backtracked.

"Of course! If your lips weren't so kissable I might not have kissed you on that rooftop." Tony joked and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh, I was trying to argue with you, not kiss you." 

"Arguing is hard, easy to just kiss, and forget what happened."

"Wow, that will _never_ work on me, I hope you know that." 

"I mean, it's worked on you before." 

"No, it hasn't."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure it has." 

"No, it hasn't."

"Mmm, I'm pretty sure I can recall more than that time on the rooftop." 

"When?"

"Uhh..."

"See? It has never worked on me." 

"Hey, give me a break! If I didn't kiss you on that rooftop we wouldn't have this little minion." Tony pointed down to the curious child.

"Fine, it's worked once, and never again." 

Tony pressed his lips to Pepper's temple, Pepper smiling and pressing a kiss to his cheek and resting against him.

"But just for the record, you've done it more than once."

" _Tony._ "


	6. VII

When Tony walked through the door that was in front of him, all he could hear was the sound of glasses clinking together and laughter resonating around him.

He slipped his hand off of the door of the bar, stopping at the door and looking around from where he was at.

He tried to find a group that he could fit into, or maybe a pretty lady that he could woo. There was nothing that was catching his eye, he sighed, trudging over to the bar counter.

He sat down with a thud, resting his hand on the shiny bar top. He stared down at faint reflection in the material as he tapped his two fingers on the bar and asked for a whiskey.

He rested his face into his hands, closing his eyes as tight as possible and then exhaling.

He wished Rhodey was here.

Rhodey was off doing something for the military, he promised to call as much as possible, but it looked like he wasn’t going to be home in time for Christmas. Which means that he wasn’t here for when December 16th snuck upon him.

He stared outside the lightly frosted window, watching as snow spattered the ground in the form of snowflakes. The lights glowed brighter in the flutter of white, the sky was dark and the moon was radiating upon the earth, making the snow glow.

He stared at the snow with a sharp glare, rolling his eyes harshly before turning back around.

The glasses on his face were the only comfort that he felt like he could get at the moment, he willed his hands to stop shaking and his shoulders to stop jolting in a flight reaction.

A drink slid his way, the whiskey in the glass almost sliding over the edge with the force that the bartender slid it, he looked up to shoot thanks their way when he stopped mid-sentence with his jaw gaped open.

In front of him stood a woman with strawberry blonde hair, shining blue eyes as they looked at him for a few seconds before darting over another customer at the bar.

Tony ignored his gut and ignored the voice in the back of his head that said that this could be the lady that he would woo tonight, he shook his head to try and remove any thoughts that lingered and started drinking his drink.

What he didn’t see was the look of solid concern on her face.

As the night went on, and the drinks continued coming, Tony’s mental state got progressively worse. The hand tightened around his glass as he kept his head down and his eyes close.

Eventually, a hand shook him on his shoulder, his attention flitted over to her, observing her actions.

"Can I walk you home, Mr. Stark?” she asked softly, her hand starting to wrap around his arm to try and haul him upwards.

“Do I know you?” Tony slurred, letting himself be pulled out of his stool and through the door.

“Don’t think so.”

“Can I have your name?” he asked, and the woman looked down at him, surprised the big brown eyes that held sorrow like no other, were staring up at her.

“Virginia.”

There was no response, however by the contemplative look on Tony’s face she’s gonna assume that he heard her.

-

When Tony walked through the door later in the week, he immediately looked for the strawberry blonde woman who had been finally revealed as Virginia.

He strolled by all of the gawking people, suit jacket, sunglasses, and all.

He made his way through the stopped people back to the bar, sitting in the same place that he sat yesterday, he twirled his sunglasses with two fingers away from his eyes, flinching at the sunlight before letting the sunglasses hang limply in his hand.

Virginia stared at him while making a drink, she observed him and noticed how the outfit was more proper than the jeans and band shirt that he was wearing the day before.

“That was the least destructive 16th I’ve had in ten years.” was the only thing that left Tony’s mouth.

“I’m glad.”

“A whiskey, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“And, can I get you a drink on me?”

Virginia turned around and looked at the billionaire that was sat at her bar, surprise painted her features. She squinted and tried to look for any ulterior motive that might have lingered within him. She was surprised that he looked nervous, his fingers tapping a beat that was in the background.

“What are you playing at, Mr. Stark?”

“Nothing! Just wanted to pay you back for yesterday.” he shot a wobbly smile and she sighed and nodded.

This woman was practically a mystery, but Tony felt comfort in her presence, he laid against the bartop, just relaxing as he scrolled on his phone.

-

It became a regular thing, Tony appearing, sitting down in that same spot, and Pepper being there with a whiskey on the table.

It was the closest thing he has gotten to a friend since Rhodey left.

He usually had a story to tell, something maybe about Obadiah, or maybe even the board of Stark Industries who always looked like they wanted someone to strangle Tony into silence as he babbled into the air.

The next week, Tony appeared, a black leather jacket laid across his shoulders as the snowy night whirred behind the closed door. He looked up with a surprise that there was barely anybody in the building, but he spotted Virginia at the bar. He noticed from across the room that the look on her face was one of annoyance and slight anger.

He felt a pang of concern flash through his chest, although he shook it off and strode over.

“-I’m not interested, sir.”

“Oh come on, red.”

Tony looked curiously at the man that was leaning way too close to Virginia and Virginia herself, she looked at him and her shoulders untightened.

“One date, my ruby.”

“No.”

“The lady said no,” Tony called out from where he was leaning against the bar, his arms crossed.

“I’m sorry? Who are you to talk, are you her boyfriend or somethin’?” the man asked and Tony didn’t respond and just stared.

“No, he’s not, he’s my friend. And he’s right, I said no.” Virginia stared down, Tony couldn’t help but shiver at the look of absolute fury that was in her eyes.

“Hah, I know a lie like that a mile away! I would be so much better than him, do you want a shorty that hides behind his sunglasses.” the man snorted, Tony took off his sunglasses and laid them beside his whiskey.

“Original,” Tony deadpanned and rolled his eyes.

“Look, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested?” Virginia spoke, Tony watched her and sipped at his drink with a slightly impressed look.

“We all know that you don’t mean that.”

Tony shot a look at Virginia and sighed.

“She doesn’t care, man, I suggest you just leave.” Tony shook his head.

The look of anger that crossed across his face made Tony’s eyes widen a fraction, his brain screaming ‘DANGER’ in bright bold red letters. He turned towards Tony and got up in his face, Tony could easily smell the alcohol.

“Who exactly gave you the right to talk?”

“The First Amendment.” Tony let a false grin curl his lips.

“Oh, think you’re so smart? he asked, shoving Tony back a little with his hands.

Tony immediately grimaced at the thought of his grimy hands on his pristine jacket.

"I’m going to call the police if you do not leave, sir, you are harassing our customers.” Virginia’s voice was patient, stern, and also cold.

He looked at Tony with a look of murder before sighing, “Fine.”

He turned around and Tony sighed with relief, turning back around to the bar from where he was standing. Instead, he watched with shock as the man turned around and attempted to lunge across the bar aiming for Virginia’s neck.

Tony snagged his shirt and pulled him back harshly, bracing a dress shoe against the bar to yank him backward.

Tony watched as Virginia palmed her pockets before pulling out a bottle and unclicking the cap, spraying the bottle straight into his eyes.

“Holy-” Tony muttered in shock, watching as the man stumbled backward and practically ran for the door.

-

Tony arrived the next weekend, worming his way in front of Virginia.

“Oh, there you are. Thought you had changed your mind about coming here after last week.”

“Nah, that was one of the best things I’ve witnessed in a bar, and I’ve been to _a lot_ of bars, Pepper.”

There was a beat of silence, the two of the locking eyes as Virginia raised an eyebrow and looked at him with exasperation.

“Pepper?”

“Well, you pepper-sprayed that man within an inch of his life, I just thought it fit.”

“I guess so.”

Tony grinned at her.

-

After that, Tony didn’t appear there again for two months, Obie had been hovering over his shoulder and yelling at him that he wasn’t producing enough products for SI.

Tony didn’t care too much, much agreed to please Obie.

He had gone through six Personal Assistants that week and he was tired of trying to juggle his life on his shoulders as he attempted to balance the work that he was expected to do and the social life he tried to have.

He needed a drink.

“God, Pep’s gonna be so mad with me.”

He nervously sat down where he usually did, seeing the recognizable outfit and hair in front of him. As Pepper turned around and saw him, her face hardened and she went to help someone else.

After the couple next to him left she pushed a whiskey down in front of him, and even that looked scary with the passive-aggressive aura she had.

“You’ve been gone a while,” she mentioned.

“Obie has been flooding my schedule,” he explained.

“Not even enough time to pop in here for five minutes?” she asked and Tony winced.

“I can’t, I’ve been trying to deal with everything that I don’t even have enough time to sleep more than four hours.”

She sighed.

“Pep, I’ve fired over a total of twenty assistants in the past six months, there’s no one who is stern enough and smart enough to be able to survive more than a couple weeks as my P.A.”

She looked at him curiously.

“And I… think that would be a good fit for you.” he offered a card over to her, she took it and gaped at him.

“The payroll would be better than you working here, you would always see me so I wouldn’t disappear on you. You could use that degree of yours, and– and…” he was word vomiting and she sighed with a smile.

“Alright,” she said.

“A-Alright?…” he asked, apprehensively.

“I’ll be your P.A.”

“Really?”

“I think I could use a career change,” she said and he felt his chest tighten with happiness as he ordered a couple of drinks in celebration.

This was the start of something great. 


End file.
